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TORONTO, May 8, 2007 – The National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) and BMO Capital Markets are pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural NEADS Equity Through Education Scholarships.

This year, scholarships were awarded to six students in three categories: College/Cégep, University Undergraduate Studies, and Graduate Studies. The scholarships were awarded based on each of the recipients’ outstanding commitment to an academic field and level of community involvement. Each recipient will be receiving a scholarship of $3,000 to support the costs of their tuition and student fees.

"Congratulations to all scholarship winners,” said Mahadeo Sukhai, President of NEADS. “This scholarship program is the first of its kind in Canada, created to celebrate overall excellence among students with disabilities in all aspects of post-secondary education. We are particularly proud of our first group of six scholarship recipients, as we feel they embody the very best qualities of academic and community involvement."

This year’s NEADS Equity Through Education scholars are:

Winner of the College/Cégep Category

Scott St. Louis of Sir Sanford Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario, is this year’s winner in the College/Cégep category. He is currently working toward a Human Nutrition degree as well as his diploma in Massage Therapy. In terms of his community involvement, St. Louis says, “I have made my services available as a role model/mentor for other blind individuals whose confidence have been affected and are not sure what they can and/or are able to achieve both academically and occupationally.”

Winners of the University Undergraduate Studies Scholarship

Michael Jensen (Bachelor of Science) and Allan Kehler (Bachelor of Physical Education/Bachelor of Education) of the University of Alberta, as well as Stephanie Spooner (Honours Kinesiology) from the University of Waterloo were awarded this year’s undergraduate scholarships. All of these students were able to overcome personal and systemic barriers, while maintaining academic excellence and remaining active within their communities.

Winners of the Graduate Studies Scholarship

J. Paige MacDougall and Carolina Pineda of McGill University are both undertaking PhDs in Anthropology. Due to their dedication and passion for the betterment of the disabled community, both on a national and international scale, they have been awarded the graduate scholarships this year.

The funding for these awards was provided by BMO Capital Markets’ Equity Through Education Program, a charitable program launched to support the belief that gaining an education is a means of improving lives. Since the launch of the program, a total of $4.9 million has been raised of which $687,500 has been donated to NEADS.

“I want to extend our best wishes to each of this year’s NEADS’ scholars on their fine achievements,” said Eric Tripp, Co-President, BMO Capital Markets and Campaign Chair of the Equity Through Education Program. “NEADS is an important national organization and we are pleased to be involved with supporting their mission.”

About NEADS

NEADS is a national organization that works to achieve full access to education for post-secondary students with disabilities across Canada. NEADS also supports the transition from school to the employment market for college and university graduates with disabilities. The proceeds from Equity through Education will be used to support a series of forums for students with disabilities to provide practical job search strategies for success in employment.

About BMO Capital Markets’ Equity Through Education Program

BMO Capital Markets founded the Equity Through Education program in 2005 to support and promote Education and Diversity. Each year, BMO Capital Markets has selected a special trading day, whereby all institutional equity trading commissions earned across North America are donated to seven organizations. More than 1,300 individuals have benefited from the program through scholarships, bursaries, mentoring programs and job search strategy forums. For more information, visit www.bmocm.com/equitythrougheducation/default.aspx